Colin said: “After we played Chile he came looking for me and told me to keep my chin up.

“It is hard trying to explain but I didn’t feel uncomfortable speaking to him.

“I felt really comfortable and he just made me feel at ease.

“I told him about my family, what I had put them through and the hurt I had caused them. He is a lovely guy.”

The recovering drink and drug addict, from Rutherglen, near Glasgow, says his life now couldn’t be more different from where he was last summer.

Colin said: “Ten months ago my life was in bits through drink and drug addiction.

“I went into treatment and started working on myself and my problems, my shame and guilt at the stuff I had been doing not just to myself but to my family.

“I used to play with Raith Rovers up until I was 18. Drink and drugs robbed me of playing football full time.

“I couldn’t deal with my problems and I couldn’t manage my feelings. I was a mess and I was tortured by guilt about what I put my family through.”

Scotland line up (Image: @homelesswrldcup/Twitter)

Colin rediscovered his love of football through Street Soccer Scotland drop-in sessions in Greenock.

He added: “I’ve been doing that for the last ten months now and to get picked for the Scotland team and come over to Amsterdam to represent my country is a dream come true.”

Farrell has been a lone-time supporter of the Homeless World Cup and in 2008, narrated the documentary Kicking It, which followed seven players’ journey to the event when it was held in Cape Town, South Africa.

The actor, whose film credits include Miami Vice and In Bruges, is now working on a fictional film about the event, in which he will play an Irish footballer.

Farrell has supported the event for several years

David Duke, the founder of Street Soccer Scotland, introduced the two Colins.

David said: “I put a picture in Colin’s head about where some of our players come from and the journey they have been on. And then he said: ‘Do you fancy going out for a fag?’

“We went out the back for a fag and wee Colin was walking past. I shouted him over and him and Colin struck up a bond.”

The actor was pitchside for the Chile match and Scotland women’s opening match, which they lost 5-0 to Norway.

David said: “We said he was a jinx. Before he left he shouted on wee Colin, gave him a hug and told him to keep fighting.

“The two of them shared their journey with each other. He was very humble, aware of what the guys had been through and very supportive.”